Lily - Meaning of Lily

[ 2 syll.li-ly, lil-y ] The baby girl name Lily is pronounced as LIHL-iy- †. Lily is mainly used in English, and its language of origin is Latin and English. English origin: It is from the elements 'lily' ; 'lilium' meaning lily. The first name is derived from the flower name, which is ultimately of the Latin 'ilium'. The flower is a symbol of purity associated with the VirginMary, and it is also well-known from a verse in the Sermon on the Mount to 'consider the lilies of the field'. A later source of the name could be the German name Lilli, which is itself from Elizabeth. The first name Lily was widely adopted by English speakers in the mid-19th century amidst the enthusiasm for flower and plant names. Its popularity saw another boost from the song Lily of Laguna (1898), performed by Eugene Stratton and G H Elliott. The name gradually fell into decline by the mid-20th century, due to a growing perception then that it was becoming old-fashioned. In recent times, it has become more popular again.

In addition, Lily is a diminutive form of the English, French, and German name Lilian in the English language.

Lily is very popular as a baby name for girls. The name has been increasing in popularity since the 1970s. At the modest height of its usage in 2011, 0.422% of baby girls were named Lily. It ranked at #15 then. In 2015, its usage was 0.342% and its ranking #25, and it was the most popular within all girl names in its group. In 2015, Lily was thrice as popular as the 2nd most popular name, Liliana.